A scene from one of the new Seinfeld-produced Acura commercials, this one dubbed, "Astro."
Acura and Jerry Seinfeld are teaming up for the comic’s web-based series, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.
Working with both Seinfeld and award-winning director Barry Sonenfeld, Acura has created eight new ads specifically for the Emmy-nominated Web series which will begin its third season next month. The commercials are designed to spoof old-time car ads but feature two of Acura’s latest products.
“My idea for ‘Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee’ was to show this certain aspect of the stand-up comedy world in a way that comedy fans would enjoy experiencing as if they were there,” explains Seinfeld, the comic best known for the long-running series of the same name.
He credits Acura’s support for allowing the Web-based “Comedians in Cars” to be produced, adding, “now Acura has enabled me to extend the concept by creating ads that fit the comedy tone of the show.”
Mike Accavitti, the senior vice president at American Honda who gave the project a green light admits, “it’s a bit of an experiment,” noting that the goal for the third season of the webcast was to take things a step further from the original ads that ran on the series. For the first two seasons, Honda ran a series of vintage 1960s and ‘70s commercials which, noted Accavitti, had the disadvantage of promoting some products the Japanese maker doesn’t build anymore.
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The new spots will focus on the Acura MDX crossover, updated for the 2014 model-year, and the flagship RLX sedan.
In a spot dubbed, “Astro,” the maker notes that “a group of four astronauts drive together in the MDX to their lift-off and back home after their return to Earth. There’s enough cargo room in the back of the MDX to store all of their space rocks and an alien figure they brought back from the trip.” Another spot demonstrates the roominess of the 2014 MDX by showing a family packing it with 90 cubic feet of potato salad as they head off to a picnic.
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Seinfeld played a key role in producing the commercials which had the added muscle of director Barry Sonnenfeld, perhaps best known for his Men in Black movie series. The two shot four of the first spots in a two-day binge on a California sound stage.
The third season of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee will debut online on January 2, 2014. For those who can’t wait, the new Acura spots can be watched on the makers Youtube Channel at: http://on.acura.com/198W7Rr.